Revelation Lesson 14 Revelation 14:1-20 In the last lesson we were introduced to the two human personalities by which Satan (the Dragon) will try to subvert the truth and attack those who trust in Christ in the second half of the Tribulation. The first personality was the Beast. He had been revealed before in Scripture where he is also called by the names the little horn, the man of lawlessness, the antichrist, and the ruler who will come. [a] The second personality was the Beast s false prophet. As we saw, he will probably be Jewish. He will perform great miracles on behalf of the Beast. We saw how in John s vision all the unbelievers would have the number 666 inscribed on their foreheads and hands and explained how that image only meant that they had willingly submitted their minds (heads) and their energies (hands) to the service of the Beast. We saw how, at the beginning of the second half of the Tribulation, just after the resurrection of the two witnesses, the Beast will take control of Jerusalem, and his false prophet will set up an image of the Beast in Jerusalem on a wing of the Temple. I suggested last time that the location of that image would likely be the Western Wall (sometimes called the Wailing Wall) where the Jews go to pray even today. At that time the world will begin to worship the Beast. At just this point, Revelation 14 and this lesson begins. Revelation 14:1 Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father s name written on their foreheads. While at the Temple Mount (Mt. Moriah), the world will begin worshipping the Beast, in John s vision he looked up and saw on adjacent Mount Zion the Lamb, who is Jesus Christ [b] with His 144,000 witnesses from the whole people of Israel (except for Dan). This will be the Lord s answer to the removal of His prophets Moses and Elijah from their ministry to the people of the Tribulation. Both of those great witnesses were resurrected from among the saints of the Old Testament. The drama of the scene is that after they have departed to Heaven, and just in the moments after that Satan thinks he has won a victory by quelling the teaching of the Lord s truth, Satan will see this scene that John saw in his vision. The Lord Jesus Christ will rise up 1 / 19
144,000 more saints from the age of Old Testament Israel. We studied them earlier in Lesson 7 on Revelation 7 as the fulfillment of the prophecy in Ezekiel 37. This scene on Mt. Zion will also be the fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah: Isaiah 40:9 You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, and do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, Here is your God! According to the chronology of Revelation, the arrival of the Lamb with the 144,000 on Mt. Zion will immediately follow the ascension of Moses and Elijah. In 30 AD, Satan had thought he had frustrated God s plan when he had succeeded in having Jesus crucified on the cross. He was then shocked to find that He had only succeeded in advancing God s plan when Jesus proclaimed It is finished (accomplished)! In the same way here, while we see Satan gloating over the bodies of the two witnesses, we suddenly see them stand on their feet and ascend to heaven. Satan and his two servants, the Beast and his prophet, will then look behind them from the Wailing Wall and see on Mt. Zion these 144,000. They will be an army for the LORD resurrected from the Valley of Dry Bones as detailed in Ezekiel 37:1-13. Their souls will have been in Heaven for over two thousand years. We previously saw them sealed for this mission in Revelation 7:3-8. In this passage they will have been resurrected on the earth for this mission of 3½ years. These will be said to have the names of the Son and the Father written on their foreheads to indicate that their minds and hearts will be totally filled with God s word and dedicated to His purpose. Revelation 14:2a And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar sound [c] of rushing many 2 / 19
[d] waters and like a loud peal of the sound [e] of a great [f] thunder. [g] In John s vision, the appearance of the 144,000 was accompanied by two noises which underscored their presentation. I have adjusted the translation as per the footnotes. There was the sound of many waters and also the sound of a great thunder. The question should be what these noises signified? In this case, the water signified the blessing of God s grace through Jesus Christ as illustrated in the following passages: John 4:10, 13-14 Jesus answered her, If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. Jesus answered, Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. John 7:37-38 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. 3 / 19
We might also remember, that they will be standing on Mt. Zion, from which will flow the literal River of Life (Revelation 22:1) and which was the location of the Cross. The noise of the great thunder spoke of the judgment of God as illustrated in the following passage: 1 Samuel 2:10 Those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder against them from heaven; the LORD will judge the ends of the earth. Thus, the many waters and the sound of thunder signify the message of the 144,000. First, they will present the offer of the free grace of God through faith in the work of Jesus Christ. Do you remember what the rich man in hell asked for? [h] He asked for water. Second, there will come the warning of judgment to come if grace is rejected. It is no different than the message the Church should be preaching today. Revelation 14:2b The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. 4 / 19
Somehow these two sounds reminded John of the playing of a mighty chorus of harpists. That seems to indicate that the sounds were musical and were orchestrated rather than random. I can t help reflecting that this is a very different idea of heavenly harps than we are generally presented with in Renaissance art. Revelation 14:3a And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures beings and the elders. This tells us that in the scene presented to John in his vision, he saw both Mt. Zion where the 144,000 were on the earth, and the throne in Heaven which we had earlier seen in Revelation. Revelation 14:3b No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. [i] What was the new song that the 144,000 sang in John s vision? It must have been their evangelistic message of grace carried with the power of the Spirit which was specifically for the 5 / 19
end time believers. One thing that was new from the old gospel was that it could give an exact term of the LORD s restraint. It was 3½ years. The fact that only the 144,000 could learn this song seems to indicate that they will be the sole human evangelists of this time of extreme suffering. The converts of this period will be imprisoned (probably to await death) or executed immediately. [j] This implies that these 144,000 resurrected believers will be untouchable because of God s power although their converts will not. Revelation 14:4a These are those who did not defile themselves with at no time are stained by women, for they kep t themselves pure are virgins. [k] The Greek verb translated by the NIV as defile is μολύνω {mo-lü'-nō} which is better translated to stain or soil as a garment is stained. It is in the aorist tense. The aorist tense is characterized by its emphasis on punctiliar action; that is, the concept of the verb is considered without regard for past, present, or future time. To translate this as the past tense as the NIV has is misleading. A better translation would be at no time stained by women. Under the Old Testament Law having sex with a woman made a man ceremonially unclean until sundown after he had washed (Leviticus 15:16, 32-33). The concept is that their robes of service are totally dedicated to the Lord with no idea of relationship with women. This in no way validates the later Roman Catholic idea of the celibacy of the priesthood. It only applied to these 144,000 who will be given resurrected human bodies after thousands of years in Heaven. Their sole purpose will be to present the message of Christ s grace to the world for 3½ years. Revelation 14:4b They follow They are following [l] the Lamb wherever he goes. 6 / 19
These follow the leadership of Jesus Christ in everything. Revelation 14:4c They were purchased from among men and offered as first fruits to God and the Lamb. We have already made the case that this will happen three days after the Passover when the two witnesses stand up and ascend to heaven. Three days after the Passover is the Feast of the First fruits. This verse is a strong substantiation of that timing. The Feast of First fruits, which is on the first day (Sunday) after the first regular Sabbath day after the Passover. That would be just after the two witnesses are resurrected. Revelation 14:4d No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless. This is another clue that these are not men whose origin is from a usual birth, with an old sin nature. These are men who have been given new human bodies, without the corruption of the flesh that comes from birth. These are men who are totally committed to doing the work for 7 / 19
which they have been resurrected. As such, they have no interest in sex. They are also, blameless and totally committed to the truth. Revelation 14:6-7a Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice, Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. This seems to say that there will also be another source of the gospel. It will be an angelic proclamation. The message of this angel also will have two sides. The first side will be the gospel (which means good news ) and the second side will be the coming judgment. Revelation 14:7b Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water. I can t help reflecting how our enlightened age strives very hard to deny the obvious fact that only a creator God could have fashioned the earth and heavens in such a way that life is possible on this earth. During the Tribulation, particularly this last part, it will be clearly demonstrated that without the sustaining power of God, life cannot exist on this planet. 8 / 19
Revelation 14:8 A second angel followed and said, Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries. In John s vision the second angel prophesied the coming fall of Babylon the Great. Babylon was the Greek name for what was called Babel in the Old Testament. The word Babylon does not even occur in the Old Testament. Where you read Babylon in translations of the Old Testament, the Hebrew word is always Babel. Of course the name came to be identified with a national entity that later sprang up in the territory around ancient Babel. What is often lost in translating the word as Babylon, when the actual name is Babel, is the symbolic connection to what happened at ancient Babel. It was at Babel that all mankind gathered on the Plain of Shinar and built a great tower to the heavens. They were basically imitating Satan s ambition to become God. They said: Genesis 11:4 Then they said, Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves. Thus, throughout the Bible, the name Babel symbolically referred to this great sin of mankind by which they imitated Satan. It is the same thought expressed in the number 666 which we studied in the last lesson. That number expresses the essence of the religion of the Beast. It is the creature trying to usurp the place of the creator. 9 / 19
Revelation 14:9-10 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. [m] The third angel prophesied that all who will follow the religion of the Beast will share in the judgment coming on him. This verse also confirms that the mark of the beast is not a tattoo or computer chip. The only things that can ever condemn us or save us is whether or not our names are written in the Book of Life by faith in the one who is the author of life and the word of life. People are not condemned for what is on the exterior of their bodies. They are condemned for what is in the interior of their hearts: John 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God s one and only Son. Revelation 14:11a And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. What the NIV translates as for ever and ever is literally unto the ages of ages. 10 / 19
Revelation 14:11b There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name. In the place of their condemnation (Hell or the Lake of Fire), there will be no peace. In other words, they will not have what Jesus was sent to give us as testified to in the following: Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Luke 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests. Luke 19:41-42 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace but now it is hidden from your eyes. John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. 11 / 19
Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Revelation 14:12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus. The this here refers to the time of the dominion of the Beast. Revelation 14:13 Then I heard a voice from heaven say, Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them. This reiterates the caution to the believers of the second half of the Tribulation made in Chapter 13: Revelation 13:10 If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and 12 / 19
faithfulness on the part of the saints. However, this gives a word of comfort. The human deaths at the hands of the beast will not stand. In Revelation we are told they will reign with Christ for a thousand years. Revelation 20:4b And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. Revelation 14:14 I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. [n] This is clearly another vision of Jesus. Here Jesus is pictured as the son of man. [o] He is also the coming King (the crown). He has been revealed in John s vision before in other aspects. Here He is portrayed about to execute judgment (the sharp sickle). He is shown seated on a cloud. This is probably associated with the prophecy given to Daniel and quoted by Jesus Christ at His trial referring to His return in triumph. [p] 13 / 19
Daniel 7:13-14 In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. [q] He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. [r] His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. Revelation 14:15-16 Then another angel came out of the temple [s] and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe. So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested. Here Jesus executes judgment. I cannot help but think of Jesus parable in Matthew. Matthew 13:24-30 Jesus told them another parable: The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner s servants came to him and said, Sir, didn t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from? An enemy did this, he replied. The servants asked him, Do you want us to go and pull them up? No, he answered, because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn. Revelation 14:17-18 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp 14 / 19
sickle. Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth s vine, because its grapes are ripe. The first one who had a sickle was Jesus Christ. Here we see one angel armed with a sickle and another in charge of fire. Among other things, this reveals to us that the elect angels will take part in the judgment of the works of the world system ( grapes from the earth s vine ). These grapes represent the bad fruit that Jesus spoke about in Matthew: Matthew 3:10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. Matthew 7:18-20 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Revelation 14:19-20 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God s wrath. They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia. 15 / 19
It must always be remembered in these visions given to John in Revelation, this is a graphic representation meant to convey to John in one simple visual metaphor, a complex idea. This simply conveys how complete the devastation of the world system and its followers will be. It should not be understood literally. We readily understand that the sickle is not literal, the grapes are not literal, and the winepress is not literal. Neither should we understand the 1600 stadia [t] of blood to be literal, yet some people insist on interpreting it that way. However, we should ask: What is the metaphorical significance of 1600 stadia? We do know that forty is the number of testing. [u] Since the number 1600 is equal to 40 times 40, I am willing to speculate that the 1600 means the testing of all testing. I believe that this symbolic river of blood presents the period of the last half of the Tribulation, particularly the last few months very powerfully, when the slaughter will be horrific and threaten the very existence of life on the earth. See the comparable passages in Ezekiel 32:3-6 and Joel 3:13-14: Ezekiel 32:3-6 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: With a great throng [v] of people [ w] I will cast my net over you (Rahab - the world system), and they will haul you up in my net. [x] I will throw you on the land and hurl you on the open field. I will let all the birds of the air settle on you and all the beasts of the earth gorge themselves on you. I will spread your flesh on the mountains and fill the valleys with your remains. I will drench the land with your flowing blood all the way to the mountains, and the ravines will be filled with your flesh. Joel 3:12-13 Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side. Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow-- so great is their wickedness! 16 / 19
[a] Described in Daniel 7:8, 2 Thessalonians 2:3, John 2:18, and Daniel 9:26 respectively. [b] This underscores the fact, that though Jesus Second Advent is when He will come back to take His throne, He has made and will make other appearances on earth in the meantime. Another example is when He appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus. [c] The Greek word here is φωνή {fō-nā'} which is the same word translated sound earlier in the verse. It can also be translated voice. In any case, there is no reason to translate either differently from its first occurrence, or to translate it as roar. [d] The Greek word here is πολύς {po-lü's} which means many or great. To translate it rushing is not valid except if we reason that if they are many, they must be rushing. That, however, is not translating, it is interpolating. [e] The Greek word here is φωνή {fō-nā'} which is the same word translated sound twice earlier in the verse. It can also be translated voice. [f] The Greek word here is μέγας {me'-gäs} which means great. [g] A very similar event is also recorded in Revelation 19:6 at the final destruction of Satan and Spiritual Babylon 3½ years later. [h] Luke 16:23-24 In hell, where he (the rich man) was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire. 17 / 19
[i] The phrase redeemed from the earth could be referring to the redemption of the bones of these 144,000 to serve Christ on earth as presented in Ezekiel 37. Here we understand that the earth is understood in its sense as the place where bodies are buried. This is one of the meanings of the Greek word γῆ {gā' } for earth used here. [j] Revelation 13:10 If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints. [k] The Greek is literally, they are (present tense) virgins. [l] This is a present active participle, and the literal and, I believe, more intelligible translation is They are following. [m] This is speaking of the Great White Throne judgment where the Lamb will be the judge. [n] See Joel 3:13. [o] Matthew 12:40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Also Psalms 8:4, Psalms 80:17, Matthew 8:20, Matthew 9:6 and many others. [p] The presence of the LORD to deliver or bless was often associated with a cloud as during the Exodus when His presence was shown by a cloud as in Exodus 13:21, Exodus 19:9, 1 Kings 8:10, Psalms 68:4, and many others. [q] Jesus referred to this passage in His trial before the Sanhedrin and it enraged them 18 / 19
(Mark 14:61-62, Luke 22:69). [r] Only God is to be worshipped (Psalms 148:13). The Pharisees of Jesus day had ample reason to understand that the Messiah could only be the Son of God. This verse is only one of many. [s] In heaven. [t] Stadia are about 200 meters or about an eighth of a mile. It was the distance of the track for running around the typical Roman or Greek stadium, hence stadia. 1600 stadia would be about 200 miles. There is no geographical location in Israel which would allow a stream to flow for more than 65 miles (the distance from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. [u] Israel spent 40 years in the desert, Moses spent 40 days on Mt. Sinai, and Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness. [v] The great throng are all those who the LORD allows to participate on His side in the final battle. [w] The Hebrew word here is ם ע {am}. It can mean people, compatriots, or kinsmen. All who are in Christ, are His kinsmen. Perhaps that is the sense here. [x] In this passage we see a familiar prophetic device. Here, scripture takes the person of the national leader of one of the great enemies (Egypt) of Israel to symbolize the Great Adversary who is Satan. The Kings of Tyre and Babylon are other notable examples of this device (Isaiah 14:3-20, Ezekiel 28:1-19). 19 / 19